New Zealand Birds

11001-73604 Red-crowned parakeet (Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae novaezelandiae) blue mutation. This museum mounted speciman is at least 120 years old. It is the only blue mutation of a wild kakariki ever documented, it was collected in Southland in the 1800's. The remarkable colour is caused by the absence of Psittacin (responsible for the red, orange and yellow pigments in parrots) *